-Caveat Lector-
Monday March 19 8:52 PM ET
Bush Pulls Clinton's Judge Nominees
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush (news - web sites) on Monday
officially dumped the last of President Clinton (news - web
sites)'s leftover nominations, raising questions about the future
of the first black appellate judge in the circuit with the most
minorities in the nation.
But the president left the door open that Roger Gregory, who was
the first black judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
(news - web sites) in Richmond, Va., when appointed temporarily
by Clinton, could get to keep his job.
``Some of these individuals will be considered for positions in
the Bush administration,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan
said. ``No one should be considered ruled in or out at this
point.''
Bush officially withdrew 62 executive and judicial nominations
made by Clinton in his last days, including Gregory. The 4th
U.S. Circuit - comprised of Maryland, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia - includes more minorities
than any other circuit in the nation.
``President Clinton appointed a highly qualified, well-respected
lawyer in Roger Gregory,'' said Julia Payne, the former
president's spokeswoman. ``It's clear that Roger Gregory met
every qualification to be on this court except for the right-wing
litmus test.''
Clinton gave Gregory and more than 42 other nominees recess
appointments after they weren't considered by the Senate last
year. But the recess appointment only allows the nominee to
serve until the end of the year, so Clinton renominated Gregory
and some other judicial candidates not considered by the Senate
Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) before he left office.
``I am disappointed that such qualified nominees, some of whom
have been waiting four years for a hearing and a vote, have been
withdrawn,'' said Sen. Patrick Leahy (news - bio - voting
record), the Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat.
``Some of the women and minority nominees, in particular, are now
left to suffer the same frustrations as so many other qualified
nominees over the past six years.''
The decision to withdraw the Clinton judicial nominees comes as
Bush starts to look at filling the remaining vacancies with his
own nominees.
White House counsel Albert Gonzales and Attorney General John
Ashcroft (news - web sites) met with top officials from the
American Bar Association on Monday to discuss the nomination
process. A committee of senior administration officials led by
Gonzales has interviewed more than 50 candidates in a drive to
fill nearly 100 vacancies with judges who share Bush's
conservative philosophy.
However, with the 50-50 Senate split, Democrats have more power
in the committee.
``The president's action withdrawing the nine appellate court
nominees, including the two well-qualified women from Michigan,
deals a body blow to the bipartisan cooperation needed to move
forward in many critical areas, including filling judicial
vacancies,'' said Sen. Carl Levin (news - bio - voting record),
D-Mich.
Other judicial nominees whose names were withdrawn included
former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell, who wanted a
position on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; lawyer
Enrique Moreno of El Paso, Texas, to the 5th U.S. Circuit;
Kathleen McCree-Lewis, who would be the first black woman on the
6th Circuit if approved; prominent Honolulu attorney James Duffy
for the 9th Circuit;
Also, North Carolina State Court of Appeals Judge James A. Wynn
for the 4th Circuit; Helene White, nominated more than three
years ago for the 6th Circuit; Barry P. Goode of Richmond,
Calif., for the 9th Circuit; H. Alston Johnson III to the 5th
Circuit; and Sarah Wilson for the U.S. Claims Court.
Bush could always renominate Gregory and the others. Democrats
say there are 94 judicial vacancies - with 29 classified as
needing to be filled immediately - and 13 more positions coming
up in the future.
Democrats fought last session to get Gregory's nomination
through, and when the effort failed, cheered Clinton's decision
to give him a recess appointment.
Even though most Republicans decried Clinton's use of his recess
power, Virginia's two Republican senators, George Allen and John
Warner, urged Bush to keep Gregory on the bench.
``I urge President Bush to renominate Judge Gregory strictly on
his merits and I firmly believe we should rise above our feelings
about the method by which he was originally appointed and act in
a statesmanlike manner,'' Allen said.
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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